The Protomen: Act 2

I highly recommend this album. Not just because it has Megaman overtones, or because it is an amazing story about humanity.

Mostly I recommend this album because it will BLOW YOUR FACE OFF WITH AWESOME.

There. It was nice to get that out. I have listened to the the demo version of Breaking Out about a gajillion times, but the final version on the actual CD was something unexpectedly wicked. It kicks ass through twelve tracks of striking lyrics and guitar solos.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to buy it and rock the fuck out:

GO!

Artist of the (Not so) Week

Been a while since I posted something on this topic.

http://ericfreitas.com/index.php


I enjoy this style of art work for two rather obvious reasons:
1. Steam punk looking objects make me all weak kneed and excitable
2. I rather enjoy the deconstructionist look to them.

When I was very young, I used to love to see old machines that had broken down and been disassembled. It was great. Even greater still, was when they were left exposed to the elements and slowly came apart.

Mr. Freitas' art does a good job, at least in me personally, of recapturing that same feeling.

So, your mission, go check it out.

Heartfelt

The world we live in a fast moving, heartless place full of mysteries that don't really give a damn whether you live or die. That is why it always confuses me as to why people would rather emphasis our differences as flaws, instead of as the virtues that they are.

Like a stained glass window, we create a single work of art we call humanity, but it is each of our tiny differences that makes the whole. As we learn about our many views and walks of life, we can see not only our weaknesses, but also our strengths and our compliments.

As far as that goes, please enjoy this video (thanks to www.richarddawkins.net and Yervant for spreading it around) We will go ahead and say the gents who made the video are our artists of the week.

Our first artist of 09

Happy new year all, and may you make the most of it.

Today I would like to talk about Keith Thompson.

Mr. Thompson has a rather impressive online folio of concept and finished art that is wonderful roller coaster of creativity that plunges into some of the darker regions of the imagination. Though, not unlike most coasters, some of the pictures might give some people a bit of gastronomical unease.

I tend to enjoy concept art, since you get to see it usually evolve over time. Portfolios often include early sketches of finished works, and a bit of insight into what the artist's thought processes were.

Some of my favorites from this particular concept artist are: The Slaver, Havelock (more on him later), The Firestorm, and the Viraemia. There are so many more wonderful pieces of artwork available for viewing on his website. I really recommend checking it out.

Didn't I say more on Havelock? Well, that was because this is a special artist of the week! Enter round two with: Modofly. These folks have some REALLY impressive works of art laser etched onto moleskin notebooks. We grabbed one for a friend of our for holiday, and let me be the first to say: DAMN, was it nice.

The reason they are here is because one of Mr. Thompson's designs is featured on the notebooks! Good ol' Havlock in all his creepy glory, now in sepia. I would go through my list of favorites here, but like the above mentioned artist it would be better for you to go and check it out for yourself.

Artist of the Week

Brandon Bird.

Most of you have probably already heard of him, but so what? The man has pop culture art cornered like a rodeo clown. Really, his paintings and illustrations speak for themselves, so go and check em out.

A lack of an artist last week.

So, I have already failed at bringing you a new artist every week.

So, to make up for it, I will bring you many.

With the holidays approaching and money tight, there are still ways to get expressive and wonderful gifts for people. Sites dedicated to hand made goods by really talented artists could really help out strained wallets, and show that you have a thoughtful insight into the person you are buying for.

Etsy- a good site with not too many ugly sweaters. The soap, jewelry, and ceramics are some of my favorites to look at. Also comes with handy guides in the form of favorites and treasuries.

The Pear Project- online store, recently started I believe.

Smashing Darling- another recently started online shopping are for hand made goods.

So get crafty this holiday.

Artist of the Week

I thought about it, and I have decided to try and have a new artist featured every week that has some how impressed me. Look forward to more of these (almost) every Friday.

Ptolemy Elrington is an scrap artist that just blew me away when I saw his work.

I have seen some terrible scrap art in my time, but it is gentlemen like Mr. Elrington that remind me that all mediums have their wizards.

You can see more of his work here.

Just look at that damned owl! Brilliant, sharp, and just a little intimidating.

Great job Ptolemy, and I hope to see much more of your work in the future.